Saturday Morning
by ninjanervana
Summary: One-Shot. Marauders Era. When Lily admits her nightmares have been keeping her awake at night, what will James do to help her?
Greetings readers! I honestly have no idea where this idea came from, but it wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down. I hope you enjoy it! I own nothing.

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Lily's POV

Lily sighed tiredly as she trudged down the stairs to the common room, her bare feet shuffling against the stone floors. It was a little after two in the morning and although Lily Evans was tired, she would even say exhausted, she absolutely refused to go back to sleep. Nightmares had plagued her for the past week, barely letting her sleep two or three hours, before she would wake up panting, her body covered in sweat. The first night she brushed it off; everyone had nightmares sometimes, nothing strange about it. The second night she blamed them on her thinking about them too much; that was her excuse for the third night as well. The fourth and fifth night she had been worried, but still certain that the nightmares would go away. Now at the seventh night, Lily was scared to sleep at night, knowing she would have nightmares that would leave her more tired than she had been when she had fallen asleep.

 _'Get it together, Lily,'_ she told herself as she walked over to the couch, plopping onto it. With a flick of her wrist, she re-lit the fire in the grate, thankful for the warmth it provided. On the warmest of days, Hogwarts was cool; in the middle of February with snow still blanketing the grounds, it was almost freezing. She briefly contemplated going back upstairs for her dressing gown−her tank top and long pajama pants wouldn't keep her that warm−before brushing the thought aside. The last thing she wanted was to wake her dorm mates. She was silly enough to forget it in the first place; she would just have to make due with the fire. She leaned her head against the arm of the couch, her legs stretched across the cushions and her red hair spilling down the side as she stared into the fire.

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James's POV

James crept down the stairs as silently as possible, his hand ruffling his hair. He had gone to bed hours ago, but had never fallen asleep, tossing and turning as he sought a rest that wouldn't come. Finally fed up with lying in bed, he decided a walk around the grounds might calm his mind enough to sleep. Maybe he would even make a stop by the kitchens for some pumpkin juice; the house elves were always kind to him and he enjoyed their cheerful company.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stopped as he saw someone sitting on the couch. Of course, it wasn't just someone to him; he would recognize that vibrant red hair anywhere. He was surprised to see her in the common room so late, but it wouldn't be the first time Lily Evans stayed up late to do homework or get in some studying.

His walk around the castle was forgotten as he walked over to the couch, taking care not to startle her. The two of them had declared a truce when they started their sixth year; after six months, he would even say they were friends, but he had been hexed by her enough times to know not to surprise her. "Lily Evans, it's past curfew, you know," he teased as he stood in front of her.

Lily looked up as James stood before her, her bright green eyes dulled by exhaustion. She hadn't heard him enter the room until he was standing in front of her. "Then what are you doing out of bed?" she questioned as she sat up, tucking her feet beneath her to make room for him.

"You don't really expect a Marauder to follow the rules, do you?" he replied with a grin. His smile dimmed slightly as he looked at her properly, taking in the dark circles beneath her eyes. James sat down on the couch beside her, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Don't kill me for this, but you look bloody exhausted."

"Gee, James, you say the sweetest things," she replied sarcastically, a light blush covering her cheeks as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Why are you awake?" she asked as she tried to change the subject.

He shrugged lightly, "Couldn't sleep. Thought maybe a walk would help me sleep."

Lily was surprised at his normal, simple answer. Part of her thought he would evade her question; a larger part of her thought he would give her some elaborate story about planning a Marauder prank. She was quite pleased to receive an honest answer from him. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"What?" he said in confusion.

"Never mind; it's a muggle saying," she replied. "Wanna talk about what's on your mind?"

"There's nothing really on my mind," James answered with a sigh. "Not one specific thing anyway. I guess it's just more of the general wondering about the future; things are changing out there, ya know? It's getting dangerous. I overthink about it and my sleeping patterns get all wonky. It happens to me sometimes. I just...can't sleep."

"Lucky you," Lily muttered, freezing as the words slipped out.

As Lily stiffened, he turned his full attention toward her. "Why are you up so late? I thought you might have been getting some schoolwork done or something. You look like you haven't slept well in a while," he said gently. "Are you alright?"

She nodded jerkily, guilt immediately hitting her. If he could be honest with her, didn't he deserve the same courtesy? Where was her Gryffindor courage? "I haven't been sleeping well lately," she admitted quietly. "For the past week really."

"Why's that?" James asked curiously. "What keeps the brilliant Lily Evans awake at night?"

"Nightmares," she whispered, fidgeting with the ends of her hair.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Lily shook her head before he finished his sentence. She could face her nightmares during the brightness of the day, when she could brush them off as silly dreams, but at night when her dark thoughts seemed to linger in every corner, she wasn't strong enough to do it. "I can fall asleep at night but then I just have nightmares and they make me feel more tired than before I went to bed so I'm just trying to avoid sleeping."

He frowned sympathetically; he knew how rough nightmares could be, but it was absolutely mad to try and go a week on barely any sleep. "How's that been working out?" he teased.

Lily rolled her eyes, bumping his shoulder with hers. "I nearly fell asleep in class," she admitted sheepishly.

James laughed loudly at the thought of perfect student and prefect Lily falling asleep in class. "Don't worry; the professor would have been so surprised that they probably wouldn't have given you detention."

"Shut up," she laughed before stifling a yawn. "It's not funny, Potter."

"Oh of course not," he said in mock seriousness, her hazel eyes shining with amusement. "Not at all."

"Prat," Lily replied without heat, folding her legs to her chest so she could rest her head against her knees, her eyes closed.

James smiled gently as he watched Lily, taking in her delicate facial features, the features he had already memorized, before his gaze drifted down her bare arms. _'She's even got freckles on her shoulders,'_ he thought, smiling at the new piece of information he learned about her. "Lily, you really ought to go upstairs and sleep," he said gently. "Your body won't thank you tomorrow if you sleep on the couch."

She opened her eyes slowly, her green gaze locked on James. She had forgotten for a moment where she was, ready to fall asleep next to him. "I don't want to have nightmares again," she murmured. "I'm so tired, James; I just want to sleep."

Something stirred in James's chest at her vulnerable tone, wanting to protect her from the nightmares that plagued her nights, protect her from anything that could ever hurt her. He may have stopped asking her out, he may have told his best mates that he was over her, but he knew he was in love with Lily and he doubted that would ever change.

"Sleep with me then," he replied, the words slipping out before he could think about them, about the potential damage it could do to their new friendship. At Lily's surprise look, he felt himself go red, his hand ruffling the back of his hair. "I-I didn't mean it like that," he stammered. "I-I just meant if you want, you can stay with me and if you start having a nightmare, I can wake you. If you want."

As silence stretched between them, James cursed himself, knowing he had ruined everything they had built between them. "Listen, Lily, I-"

Okay," she said, interrupting him.

"What?" he replied, shocked. He was sure any moment he would be woken by Sirius's snores or Peter's sleep-talking. This had to be a dream. There was no way that Lily just agreed to share his bed.

Lily took a deep breath as if gathering her bravery. "I said okay. I'd like to stay with you tonight if that's alright," she replied softly, her green eyes locked on his.

James nodded, trying to restrain the smile that wanted to spread across his lips. Lily Evans, the girl he had pined for since he was a First Year and saw her on the Hogwarts Express, was going to bed with him. Even if it was just to sleep and he wouldn't lay finger on her, he was thrilled at the prospect of waking up beside her, of opening his eyes in the morning to see her beside him. Now he couldn't wait to go to sleep. "Yeah, yeah it's alright with me," he said as he stood, offering his hand to her. "Are you ready to go up now?"

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Lily's POV

Lily nodded, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her to her feet. As she stood, she kept her hand in his, enjoying the feel of his warm, roughened hands against her soft skin. Of all the ways she saw this evening going, she would never have thought she'd be heading up to the boys' dormitory to share a bed with James Potter. The boy who she had called an arrogant toerag for five years had matured and become a good friend to her, one of the closest she had. She couldn't deny how safe he made her feel, safe enough that she almost fell asleep on the couch, and after all the nightmares she suffered from, safe was something she desperately wanted.

The door to the boys' dormitory creaked softly as James opened it, tugging her inside before shutting it behind her. To her, the room seemed darker than the girls' dormitory, but James had no problem leading them through the darkness, walking her past the beds of the sleeping Marauders. He opened the curtains of his bed and pulled back the sheets, gesturing for her to climb in.

Lily could feel herself turn bright red as she climbed into his bed, quickly slipping beneath his sheets. She had never shared a bed with a boy before; although she had dated other guys, she wasn't the type to jump into bed with them. Even though she knew nothing was going to happen between the two of them, she couldn't help the blush that stole over her cheeks or the fluttering in her stomach. The fluttering increased as James climbed in next her, closing the bed curtains before laying next to her.

"Alright, Lily?" he asked softly as he laid his head on his pillow, leaving quite a bit of space between the two bodies. As he shifted to lie on his side, he grabbed the end of the sheet, pulling it up to her shoulders. "You're shaking; are you cold? Do you want another blanket?"

She smiled slightly, shaking her head at his concern. "I'm alright," she whispered, swallowing hard against her nervousness. "I'm tired."

James nodded in understanding, taking off his glasses and setting them on his bedside table. "It's okay to sleep now, Lily; you're safe," he assured her. "I'm here."

Lily's eyes fluttered shut at his voice, his husky tone soothing her. Funny how he knew just what she needed to hear. "Thank you, James," she murmured. She began to think he had fallen asleep or hadn't heard her at all when she felt his hand gently brush a strand of hair from her face.

"Sweet dreams, Lily," he whispered, his words barely heard as she finally fell asleep.

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James's POV

James woke the next morning to the feeling of something tickling his nose, something that smelled like vanilla and fresh parchment and... _'Lily,'_ he thought, a small smile forming on his lips. It was the most calming scent in the world, a scent that tried to lure him back to sleep. He thought momentarily that the whole night with Lily was just a dream before he realized there was a very warm body pressed against his.

As he opened his eyes slowly, a broad grin spread across his lips as he saw who the warm body was. Lily Evans was sound asleep in his bed, her expression more peaceful than he had seen in quite a while. Before he had fallen asleep, he made sure to leave at least a foot of space between them, not wanting to make Lily feel uncomfortable, but at some point during the night, their sleeping arrangements changed. Lily's body was pressed flush against his, her head resting against his chest and her legs tangled between his. She had one arm draped over his torso while the other was trapped between their bodies, lightly gripping the front of his shirt. James wasn't much better; his chin had been resting on top of Lily's head, he had one arm wrapped around her waist while the other was pillowed beneath her head, his fingers buried in her red hair.

James couldn't remember ever feeling so content as he watched Lily sleeping, proud that the dark circles seemed a bit lighter than the night before. And Lily had slept without nightmares, something else he was glad for. While part of him wanted to stay awake to enjoy Lily's presence, a larger part of him wanted to go back to sleep, knowing it was still too early to be awake. Tucking the sheets back around Lily's shoulders to keep her warm, he shut his eyes, slipping back to sleep faster than he could ever remember.

When James woke again, he was unsure if it was minutes or hours later, it was to the sound of his bed curtains being opened followed by a loud gasp. He kept his eyes closed, hoping that whoever had opened the curtains would take the hint and go away. Frantic whispering occurred before footsteps approached his bed. One of the mystery people moved, causing a bright ray of sunlight to spill across James's face.

"You git, close the bloody curtains before you wake her," he hissed, pulling Lily closer, as if there were any room between them in the first place. A soft sigh left Lily's lips, the hand between their bodies tensing for a moment before relaxing again.

Someone moved to block the sunshine that streamed into his bed, allowing James to open his eyes without being blinded by it. He was unsurprised to find his three best mates standing at his bedside wearing varying expressions of surprise and incredulity.

Sirius was the first to recover, snapping his jaw closed with an audible snap. A mischievous grin spread across his face as he gazed down at the pair. "Someone's looking _very_ cozy this morning. I didn't know you were expecting company," he said with a smirk. "Oh Prongs, would you care to explain why is Lily Evans sleeping in your bed?" he asked with an air of innocence, wiggling his eyebrows.

Before James could open his mouth to answer, a muffled reply came from the person in question. "Because Lily Evans is tired," she mumbled, her eyes shut as she nuzzled into James's chest. "What time is it?"

Shock colored the Marauders' expressions again as they looked down at the sleeping girl pressing herself closer to James before looking around the room for a clock. "It's half past nine," Remus finally answered.

Lily nodded, a yawn escaping her lips. "Wake us at eleven, yeah? Unless you have somewhere to be, James?" She rested her forehead against his shoulder, her body relaxing.

James looked up at his best mates, watching their smiles of approval, before turning his attention to Lily, stroking her hair lightly. The boys closed the bed curtains, giving the pair their privacy. "No, there's nowhere else I'd rather be," he answered quietly, kissing her forehead lightly.

Lily hummed in approval, a small smile on her lips. "Me neither," she mumbled before drifting back to sleep.

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Reviews please!


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